Off to Akita with Kyun Pass!!

I took a trip to Akita using JR East’s unlimited-ride pass, available on weekdays during this season: the “Travel on Weekdays! Tabi-Kyun ♡ Early Bird Pass” (¥10,000).

It is an incredible pass that offers unlimited weekday travel on JR East Shinkansen, limited express trains, and more, plus up to two reserved-seat journeys.

This time, I made good use of our once-a-month Monday closing day.

Even though it was a weekday morning in the 8 o’clock hour, the Akita Shinkansen Komachi was almost fully booked.

And the passengers were presumably fellow Kyun Pass users.

The deep crimson and white train that pulled into the station was breathtakingly beautiful!

No wonder—the train was designed by Kiyoyuki Okuyama, better known as Ken Okuyama, who has designed numerous Ferraris for Pininfarina.

The E6 Series Komachi runs coupled with the E5 Series Hayabusa as far as Morioka. Beyond Morioka, it travels on conventional lines to Akita, so its body width conforms to conventional railway standards.

That is why even the standard-class seats are arranged in a 2-by-2 layout, just like Green Car seats.

Of course, the Green Car has more luxurious seat materials, greater seat pitch, and carpeted floors, giving it a more premium feel. But unlike other Shinkansen, standard class is not arranged 2-by-3, so it somehow feels like a particularly good value.

After passing Utsunomiya, the train accelerates to its top speed of 320 km/h.

One of the pleasures of traveling by Shinkansen is leaving a speedometer app running on your phone by the window and enjoying the speed in real time.

And there is nothing quite like the motor sound, the faint rush of the wind, and the scenery streaming past as though flying.

My favorite view from the Tohoku Shinkansen is the scenery from summer through autumn.

That is because the rice paddies are breathtakingly beautiful at that time of year.

Now, in the bleakness of winter, the scenery is undeniably a little monochrome, but it would be ungrateful to complain when we are able to ride the Shinkansen at such an exceptional price.

Now, the flying scenery lasts only as far as Morioka. From there, the Komachi leaves the Shinkansen’s high-speed line and moves onto conventional tracks—though they are still built to a very high standard—so its maximum speed drops to 130 km/h, and even the passage of time seems to slow down.

Then, around Shizukuishi, a snowy landscape suddenly appears.

As far as the eye can see, it is a world of silver—truly magnificent.

The fifth-generation owner does not play many games, but in his younger days, the one video game he did play was “Densha de GO!”

Using a controller modeled after a train’s operating controls, he often drove the Akita-to-Shin-Hanamaki section of the Tohoku and Akita Shinkansen routes.

Even though it was only in a game, it is moving to travel through familiar scenery on the actual train.

The four-hour one-way journey had seemed long, but simply watching the scenery made the time fly by.

At Akita Station, an Akita dog—somehow dressed for Valentine’s Day—and a namahage welcomed us.

Having eaten only lightly in the morning, I was hungry too.

Since I had come all the way to Akita, I decided to have something local for lunch at Sato Yosuke, an Inaniwa udon restaurant recommended by one of our customers.

The fifth-generation owner does not usually eat many noodles, but he has completely fallen for the deliciousness of Inaniwa udon.

I had imagined something thicker when I heard “udon,” but what arrived was as refined and delicate as hiyamugi noodles (I rather like somen and hiyamugi).

I chose a tasting set: simple hot udon, along with chilled zaru udon served with sesame dipping sauce.

For another Akita specialty, Hinai jidori chicken, I had mixed rice cooked with the chicken.

Very satisfied＾＾

There was a little time before my return Komachi, so I spent it at a nearby local coffee shop.

The café was called Akai Bunko, and true to its name, it was packed with books.

The customers seemed to be relaxing in their own way, each with a book in hand.

The fifth-generation owner had the house specialty, jelly punch, along with Vienna coffee.

It was a short stay of less than two hours, but perhaps that is just right for someone who loves food.

With any more time, I would surely have gone on to another place…

On the return Komachi, I enjoyed the snowy scenery from the window, but perhaps because of the pleasant fullness after my meal, I fell asleep before I knew it and woke up to find we had reached Sendai.

Seated in a train traveling at 320 km/h, I spent the rest of the journey dozing.

Thank you, JR East, for a wonderful journey.